Can you deduct work-from-home expenses as an employee in 2026?
Short answer: yes, if your employer requires you to work from home and you meet the conditions. You deduct part of your home costs on both returns: with Form T2200 (signed by your employer) and Form T777 federally, and Form TP-64.3 (signed by your employer) and Form TP-59 in Québec. There is no flat-rate method for 2026. The $2-a-day shortcut ended after 2022, federally and in Québec, so you must use the detailed method.
Is there still a flat-rate method?
No. The temporary flat rate was a COVID measure. It allowed $2 per day worked at home, up to a yearly cap, for 2020 to 2022. The CRA confirmed it did not apply from 2023, and Revenu Québec says the same for its side. As of November 2026, neither government has brought it back.
That means real expenses, real receipts and a real calculation.
Who qualifies?
Federally and in Québec, three things must be true:
- Your employer requires you to pay the expenses under your employment conditions and doesn't reimburse them. For the CRA, the arrangement can be written or verbal.
- The work space is where you mainly do your job. That means more than 50% of the time. The CRA accepts a period of at least four consecutive weeks for this test.
- Your employer signs the forms: the T2200 for the CRA and the TP-64.3 for Revenu Québec.
A hybrid schedule of three days at home out of five passes the 50% test (for the CRA, it has to last at least four weeks in a row).
What can a salaried employee deduct?
- Utilities such as electricity, heating and water, for the work-space share.
- Rent, the work-space share, if you rent your home.
- Maintenance, like minor repairs and cleaning products, for the work-space share.
- Home internet: a reasonable part of your monthly fee (not the modem or router rental).
- Office supplies you use up for work, such as paper and ink.
You cannot deduct mortgage interest, property taxes, home insurance or the cost of furniture and computers. Employees paid by commission can also deduct property taxes and home insurance.
How do you calculate it?
Divide the area of your work space by the total finished area of your home (hallways, kitchen and bathrooms included). If the space is a shared room, such as a corner of the living room, you also factor in your hours of work.
Example: Amira rents a 1,000 sq. ft. apartment in Montréal. Her office is a 100 sq. ft. room used only for work, so her share is 10%.
- Rent for 2026: $18,000, so $1,800.
- Electricity: $900, so $90.
- Her internet, at the part she can reasonably tie to work.
Her claim on rent and electricity is $1,890, plus the internet portion. On both returns, it can't create or increase a loss from employment. Any unused amount carries forward to next year, as long as you still earn income from the same employer.
Which forms go where?
- Federal: your employer completes the T2200 and you keep it. You calculate on the T777 and enter the total on line 22900 of your T1.
- Québec: your employer completes and signs the TP-64.3. You calculate on the TP-59, and both forms go with your TP-1. The total goes on line 207.
Finances Québec has an online calculator for home office expenses that helps fill in the TP-59. Self-employed? Different rules apply; see self-employed expenses.
Want us to do the math?
Book a free 30-minute session at soleraaccounting.ca/rendez-vous or call 450 612-7223. Bring your T2200, TP-64.3 and bills, and we'll work out your claim on both returns. Service in French, English and Arabic.
This article is general information, not personalized tax advice.
Frequently asked questions
Can I still use the $2-a-day flat rate for 2026?
No. The flat-rate method applied only to 2020, 2021 and 2022. For 2026 you must use the detailed method, with forms signed by your employer.
My employer won't sign the T2200 or TP-64.3. Can I still claim?
No. The signed forms confirm that your job required you to pay these expenses. Without them, the CRA and Revenu Québec won't allow the deduction.
Can I deduct the laptop or desk I bought?
Not as a salaried employee. Furniture and computers are capital purchases, and salaried employees can't claim depreciation on them. Supplies you use up, like paper and ink, can count.
Sources
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